The Markets May 3, 2011

Active Traders Show Market Optimism

The latest Charles Schwab Active Trader Sentiment Survey found that 72% of traders who are expecting a tax refund this year plan on investing at least some of it.
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More than a quarter of respondents (28%) say they will put the entire refund into their investment portfolios.  

According to a press release, overall optimism about market conditions hit its highest level since the end of 2009. Nearly half of those traders surveyed (47%) said they are currently bullish, compared to 38% last November and up from just 28% in April 2010.   

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Optimism about the market appears to be pushing traders into action. One in four (25%) recently changed their portfolio allocation to include less cash. And more than two-thirds (69%) plan to make more than 36 trades this year.   

More than three quarters (77%) consider market volatility a friend versus a foe, up from 71% in November 2010.  

Traders surveyed are most bullish on the technology sector (36%), followed by materials (26%) and financials (13%). Only 4% of traders said the energy sector looked most promising to them and just 1% identified commodities as the sector they were optimistic about.   

Roughly half (49%) of respondents own foreign stocks mostly through American Depository Reciepts (ADRs) or Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), down from 56% in November, possibly reflecting the crisis in Japan and continued unrest in the Middle East.   

Traders said an easy-to-use trading platform (26%) was most important to them, followed closely by access to research (25%) and cost (20%).   

Charles Schwab surveyed 653 active traders and investors (those who trade at least 36 times per year) from March – April 2011.

Products May 3, 2011

Nationwide Expands Investment Lineup

Nationwide Financial Services announced enhancements to its variable annuity and variable life insurance products, including expanded investment options in the bond and large-cap growth categories.
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Two new funds from Nationwide and PIMCO were added to the lineup. They are the:

  • American Century NVIT Growth Fund – A large-cap growth fund that primarily invests in common stocks issued by large-cap companies.
  • PIMCO VIT Total Return Portfolio – An intermediate-term bond fund that invests primarily in investment-grade debt securities, but may invest up to 10% of total assets in high-yield securities rated B or higher.

Nationwide also expanded its America’s marketFLEX Series with offerings from ProFunds. Nationwide also added fixed income, alternatives, and asset allocation funds.

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As of May 1, 2011 Nationwide’s investment lineup will include:

  • Coverage across 34 Morningstar categories
  • Access to over 30 money managers
  • 17 asset allocation investment options
  • More than 60 options with a 5-year track record; over 40 options with a 10-year track record

The complete list of changes to Nationwide’s investment lineup, including wall-offs, name changes and summaries of the fund lineups for specific variable products are available atwww.nationwide.com/mayupdates.

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